{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://simpson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398045", "Simpson Urges Full Funding of PILT SRS for FY2015", "2014-10-15", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Mike Simpson", "S001148", "simpson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson joined a number of western colleagues in urging House leadership to secure full funding for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) programs for fiscal year 2015.\u00a0 In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Simpson and others urged that the federal government fulfill its responsibility to counties with tax-exempt federal land by fully funding both programs.\r\nLegislation authorizing full funding of PILT expired at the end of September.\u00a0 The letter reads:\u00a0 \u201cWhile it must be our ultimate goal to enact a long-term, sustainable solution to eliminate the ongoing uncertainty our counties face [while Congress authorizes these programs on a year-to-year basis], an extension and full-funding of these programs is essential to address immediate needs\u2026Without congressional action, we risk severely crippling these counties\u2019 ability to operate.\r\n\u201cEqually important is the funding that more than 700 forest counties and school districts receive through SRS.\u00a0 These payments honor the over 100 year old contract between the federal government and counties housing the 193 million acres of National Forest land.\u00a0 Due to extremely low productivity on the federal forests over the past two decades, these funds are more critical to counties\u2019 well-being than ever.\u00a0\u201d\r\nSimpson has been a long-time advocate for extending the existing mandatory authorization of PILT.\u00a0 \u201cPILT is the equivalent of the federal government paying the property taxes it owes to the counties where it owns land.\u00a0 If we fail to fully fund the government\u2019s obligations under PILT, the federal government is essentially failing to pay its taxes and fulfill its commitments to counties throughout Idaho and the West.\u00a0 As a result, many counties\u2014especially those with a large percentage of federal land\u2014will be unable to provide essential services.\u00a0 These counties know that PILT is not an optional \u2018nice to have\u2019 but critical to their ability to serve their communities.\u201d\r\nThe letter was signed by 41 members and delivered to House leadership on October 15, 2014.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://simpson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398045"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8833689391613007, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}